Prospective Study of Nutritional Factors, Blood Pressure, and Hypertension Among US Women

We examined prospectively the relation of nutritional factors with hypertension and blood pressure levels among 41,541 predominantly white US female nurses, aged 38 to 63 years, who completed a detailed semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire in 1984 and were without diagnosed hypertension, cancer, or cardiovascular disease. During 4 years of follow-up, from 1984 to 1988, 2,526 women reported a diagnosis of hypertension. Age, relative weight, and alcohol consumption were the strongest predictors for the development of hypertension. Dietary calcium, magnesium, potassium, and fiber were not significantly associated with risk of hypertension, after adjusting for age, body mass index, alcohol, and energy intake. Among women who did not report hypertension during the follow-up period, calcium, magnesium, potassium, and fiber were each significantly inversely associated with self-reported systolic and diastolic pressures, after adjusting for age, body mass index, alcohol consumption, and energy intake. When the four nutrients were added simultaneously to the regression model, only fiber and magnesium intakes retained significant inverse associations with systolic and diastolic pressures. In analyses of food groups, intakes of fruit and vegetables were inversely associated with systolic and diastolic pressures, and intakes of cereals and meat were directly associated with systolic pressure. These results support hypotheses that age, body weight, and alcohol consumption are strong determinants of risk of hypertension in middle-aged women. They are compatible with the possibilities that magnesium and fiber as well as a diet richer in fruits and vegetables may reduce blood pressure levels.